A coalition of tobacco control advocates in Nigeria has rejected the proposed National Tobacco Control Act (Amendment) Bill, 2025, describing it as a major setback to public health and calling for its immediate withdrawal.
In a joint statement issued on Thursday, 13 organisations warned that the bill would weaken existing tobacco control measures by creating a more permissive regulatory framework for electronic cigarettes, heated tobacco products, nicotine pouches and other non-combustible nicotine products.
The coalition urged the National Assembly to recall the bill and called on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to withhold assent if it is transmitted for executive approval.
According to the groups, the amendment fails to strengthen regulation of emerging tobacco and nicotine products. Instead, they argued, it dismantles key safeguards established under the National Tobacco Control Act, 2015, including restrictions on advertising, promotion, sponsorship, product display and remote sales.
The coalition criticised the bill for excluding heated tobacco products from the legal definition of tobacco products, despite containing tobacco, describing the provision as contradictory and inconsistent with the World Health Organization Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO FCTC), which classifies heated tobacco products as tobacco products.
The organisations also condemned provisions that would permit tobacco advertising in so-called adult publications, point-of-sale promotions, online platforms and adult events. They argued that the definition of an adult publication where at least 50 per cent of readers are over 18 years would still expose large numbers of minors to tobacco marketing.
Citing Nigeria’s youthful population and increasing internet access among children, the coalition warned that the bill would create new channels for tobacco and nicotine companies to market products to young people.
The groups further opposed provisions allowing online sales, courier deliveries, retail displays and product sampling for non-combustible tobacco products, warning that Nigeria lacks the enforcement capacity to regulate such activities effectively.
They also expressed concern over proposed changes to packaging and health warning requirements, including reduced warning labels for nicotine pouches and exemptions for vaping and tobacco-heating devices. The coalition said the bill also weakens enforcement by removing key penalty provisions contained in the 2015 Act.
According to the statement, the amendment introduces provisions allowing manufacturers to classify product information as trade secrets, thereby restricting public access to health-related information. The groups argued that this conflicts with existing transparency obligations under the Freedom of Information Act.
They further criticised the bill for granting the Minister of Health broad discretionary powers to exempt non-combustible products from statutory requirements on grounds of “public interest,” warning that such provisions could encourage regulatory capture.
The coalition questioned the legislative process that produced the bill and demanded the public release of all versions of the proposed legislation, committee reports, public hearing records, stakeholder submissions and voting records.
It also called on the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, the Attorney-General of the Federation, relevant regulators and the National Tobacco Control Committee to publicly clarify their positions on the proposed amendment.
The organisations maintained that all tobacco and nicotine products should remain subject to a single, robust regulatory framework, with strict prohibitions on advertising, promotion, sponsorship, retail displays, product sampling and online sales.
The statement was jointly signed by the Nigeria Tobacco Control Alliance (NTCA), Corporate Accountability and Public Participation in Africa (CAPPA), Gatefield Impact, Youth Coalition Against Cancer, Nigerian Cancer Society, Call Off Cancer Initiative, Association of Resident Doctors, Abuja, A New Thing International Foundation, Oncology Nursing Society of Nigeria, Development Initiative for Society Health, Centre for Youth Inclusion and Development, Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC), and Trailblazers Initiative.
